Tuesday, February 20, 2024
Copyrighted by Sarah Morris, 2024
Walker Buehler probably won’t pitch during the Cactus League even though he is healthy. Dustin May while at the beginning of a throwing program after having a significant elbow surgery is feeling better than at any point during the rehabilitation process after his Tommy John surgery in June 2021.
Buehler is healthy after his second Tommy John surgery in August 2022. He attempted to return to the mound at Dodger Stadium during the 2023 season. Nevertheless, he was not bouncing back after outings, so the Los Dodgers shut down Buehler.
This spring training, new father Buehler is hitting 92 MPH during his bullpen sessions. Buehler’s velocity increases with the adrenaline of the game. The Dodgers want to see how Buehler bounces back from a bullpen session.
Since Buehler has undergone two Tommy John surgeries since he was drafted in 2015, the Dodgers want to limit his innings. Buehler doesn’t want to start the season, stop, and vamp up again. Thus, the Dodgers think Buehler will miss the first month of the 2024 season.
During Buehler’s bullpen sessions, Dave Roberts hasn’t been impressed with his command. Hopefully, Buehler’s command improves. If not, the Dodgers might delay Buehler’s return in his contract year. While Buehler wants to pitch in the Cactus League, the Dodgers are more concerned about having Buehler in October than spring training.
May never felt great during the rehabilitation process after his first Tommy John surgery. He hoped his elbow would feel better further away from the surgery. It never did until he injured his flexor tendon against the Minnesota Twins on May 17th.
In June, May received a PRP injection that didn’t work. In July, the Dodgers announced May would undergo flexor tendon repair and Grade 2 Tommy John revision surgery. The surgery was successful.
On the first of February, May started a throwing program. May hopes he returns to the mound at Dodger Stadium sometime in August. May perhaps had a damaged flexor tendon after his first Tommy John surgery.
Many baseball-knowledgeable people think May needs to revise his delivery to prevent further injury. His delivery puts undo stress on his valuable right arm. If he smooths out delivery, it may prevent further arm injury.
